Everything special districts need to know about online compliance

Transcription

1 Everything special districts need to know about online compliance What we ll cover: The Challenge All district requirements in CA The Public Records Act The Brown Act Financial Transaction Report Compensation Report Open Data in California Section 508 / ADA compliance Mobilegeddon and why mobile friendliness matters There will be time for questions SLOANE DELL ORTO

2 State requirements The Challenge The state is probably not going to stop telling you what to do, including when it comes to your online presence. But you re busy providing essential services, not building websites. So how do you stay compliant with requirements you may not even hear about? (For example, the January 2018 Section 508 changes, or the January 2019 Brown Act agenda posting updates?)

3 State requirements 4 literal, legal CA state requirements, 2 content and formatting mandates Brown Act agenda posting* - 72 hours in advance, add to website Compensation Report* - to Controller, add to site or link to PublicPay Financial Transaction Report* - to Controller, post to website Enterprise System Catalog* - available at offices, post to website *Required even if you don t have a website 1. Section 508: Accessible to people with disabilities 2. AB 169: Open Data definition for anything you call open data

4 Considerations / Requirements (CA)

5 Public Records Act Public Records Act What it is: a law passed by the California State Legislature and signed by the governor in 1968 requiring inspection or disclosure of governmental records to the public upon request, unless exempted by law. California Government Code 6250 through Online requirements (so far) come through two recent additions: SB 272 AB 2853

6 Public Records Act: SB 272 Public Records Act: SB 272 (new-ish) What it is: Enterprise System Catalog requiring local agencies to create a catalog of enterprise systems that fit certain criteria, make it publicly available upon request, and post It in a prominent location on the website if they have one. What to do about it: review the law and create a spreadsheet of all systems your agency uses that aren t exempt, or use Streamline s free Enterprise System Catalog tool ( Compliance was due by July 1, Make sure to post a link on your website in a prominent location!

7 Public Records Act: SB 272 This bill would require each local agency, except a local educational agency, in implementing the California Public Records Act, to create a catalog of enterprise systems, as defined, to make the catalog publicly available upon request in the office of the person or officer designated by the agency s legislative body, and to post the catalog on the local agency s Internet Web site. The bill would require the catalog to disclose a list of the enterprise systems utilized by the agency, and, among other things, the current system vendor and product Because the bill would require local agencies to perform additional duties, it would impose a state-mandated local program.

8 Public Records Act: SB 272

9 Public Records Act: SB 272

10 Public Records Act: SB 272

11 Public Records Act: SB 272

12 Public Records Act: AB 2853 Public Records Act: AB 2853 (new!) What it is: In addition to maintaining public records for public inspection during the office hours of the public agency, a public agency may comply with subdivision (a) by posting any public record on its Internet Web site and, in response to a request for a public record posted on the Internet Web site, directing a member of the public to the location on the Internet Web site where the public record is posted. What to do about it: post often-requested public records to your site, and point PRA requestors there, potentially saving lots of money. (Note that if they cannot access the site for any reason, you still have to provide printed copies.)

13 Public Records Act: AB 2853 Records How to make requests

14 Public Records Act: AB 2853 Pro tip: Make it clear that most records are available on your site, and give them a way to request others electronically

15 The Brown Act: Agendas The Brown Act: agenda posting What it is: law governing meetings. At least 72 hours before a regular meeting... post an agenda containing a brief general description of each item of business to be transacted or discussed at the meeting in a location that is freely accessible to members of the public and on the local agency s Internet Web site, if the local agency has one. What to do about it: Set a reminder to post your agendas at least 72 hours before each meeting, including on your website (or use Streamline Web s agenda posting reminder tool so you never forget!)

16 The Brown Act: Agendas

17 The Brown Act: Agendas

18 The Brown Act: Agendas Pro tip: Instead of having separate sections for meetings, agendas, and minutes, add your agendas and minutes to each meeting, so that visitors can find what they re looking for based upon the meeting date.

19 The Brown Act: Agendas The Brown Act: home page agenda (new!) What it is: AB a brand new law dictating that agencies post the most recent agenda directly on the homepage of their website, in an electronically searchable / retrievable platform-independent format. What to do about it: Be prepared by 2019 to post the most recent agenda to the home page in the required format (or use Streamline Web s automatic home page meeting feature so you don t have to worry about it).

20 The Brown Act: Agendas

21 Financial Transaction Report Financial Transaction Report What it is: California Government Code Section and 53893, requiring local government agencies to submit a specific financial transaction report to the State Controller s office within seven months after the close of each fiscal year...shall either post it in a conspicuous location on its Internet Web site, or cause copies of the report to be prepared and the clerk of the legislative body shall furnish a copy to any person requesting it. What to do about it: Visit the Controller s website for forms, and be sure that your agency is submitting the report each year. Make sure to post it on your website, if you have one.

22 Compensation Report Compensation Report What it is: A report that must be submitted to Controller s office by April 30 each year, including information on the annual compensation of its elected officials, officers, and employees. If the agency maintains a website, the report must be posted to a conspicuous location. Alternately a link to the Controller s PublicPay website can be used instead. What to do about it: Visit the Controller s website for instructions, and complete your reports annually. If you have a website, post the report on your site as well, or post a link to instead.

23 Financial Reports

24 State requirements

25 Open Data in California

26 Open Data: AB 169 AB 169: Open Data This bill, if a local agency, except a school district,* maintains an Internet Resource, including, but not limited to an Internet Web site, Internet Web page, or Internet Web portal, which the local agency describes or titles as open data, and the local agency voluntarily posts a public record on that Internet Resource, would require the local agency to post the public record in an open format that meets specified requirements, including, among others, that the format is able to be retrieved, downloaded, indexed, and searched by a commonly used Internet search application. * School districts are almost always exempted from state mandates

27 Open Data: AB 169 Context: California Open Data Law What it is: AB 169 is a California law defining what the term open data means, for content posted to an agency website. If you call it open data and you post it to your website, it d better meet the guidelines, which are mostly about the searchability and structure of the data. What to do about it: if your content doesn t fit the requirements to be called open data, then just don t call it open data :)

28 Accessibility

29 ADA Compliance: Section 508 Section 508 (Federal / CA) What it is: a Federal law requiring that various technology be accessible to people with disabilities. Web section concerns itself with making sure websites work effectively with assistive tech (screen readers, magnifiers, Braille readers, etc.) Adopted by California legislature as well. What to do about it: You can use online testing software to check for Section 508 compliance. Reach out to your website vendor if your site isn t compliant or just use Streamline Web.

30 ADA Compliance: Section 508 But why? An estimated 15-20% of the population has a disability, many of which affect a person s ability to navigate the web Your website should be accessible by everyone if possible, and the basics aren t that difficult Accessible websites get better search results (bonus!) because they are typically formated in a more clear, easy to parse way

31 ADA Compliance: Section 508 Section 508 (Federal / CA) Jan. 18, 2018, Section 508 officially adopted WCAG 2.0 AA guidelines, which are a bit more strict Only sites built after Jan have to comply with the more strict guidelines (major redesigns count too) all other sites must comply with Section 508 only (grandfathered!) Use online testing tools like to check for compliance - there are options to check for just Section 508 compliance (older sites) or WCAG 2.0 compliance (newer sites)

32 ADA Compliance: Section 508 Step 1: Visit achecker.ca

33 ADA Compliance: Section 508 Enter URL, click Options to choose test type WCAG 2.0 AA: New/Current Standards Section 508: Standards before Jan 18, 2018

34 ADA Compliance: Section 508 Evaluate results For compliance you need to pay attention to anything that shows up under Known Problems

35 ADA Compliance: Section 508 What if there are errors? If your report shows Known problems, export it and share with your website vendor to get a quote to have them fixed.

36 ADA Compliance: Section 508 What if there are errors? If your report shows Known issues, print it and share with your website vendor to get a quote to have them fixed.

37 ADA Compliance: Section 508 Testing resources achecker.ca - free good for single page tests for 508 or WCAG 2.0 AA standards nibbler.silktide.com - free good for testing accessibility and overall site effectiveness SiteImprove.com - paid service (pricey!) watches for accessibility issues, broken links, content guidelines, and more Note: automated testing tools only go so far

38 California: Special District Website Bill

39 SB 929: Website requirement SB 929: All Districts Need a Website What it is: A bill sponsored by CSDA (to circumvent a stronger bill based on Little Hoover Commission recommendations). So far: all districts must have a website unless they pass a resolution claiming a hardship each year. What to do about it: Get a website if you don t already have one! If you do already have one, make sure it s compliant.

40 SB 929: Website requirement SB 929 What it is: SB 929 would require all California special districts to create a website by Jan. 2020, to include the following: 1. All existing requirements (searchable agendas posted to the home page, link to board and staff compensation, financial transaction report, and enterprise system catalog) 2. Additionally (to date) would require contact information for the district.

41 Best practices: Mobile friendly and SSL

42 Mobile Friendly Matters Google s Mobile Friendly Update What it is: Affectionately known as Google Mobilegeddon, it s a recent update to Google s search algorithm that penalizes (excludes!) sites that are not mobile friendly when a search is conducted on a mobile device including smartphones and tablets. What to do about it: Test your site online using Google s tool at - and if your site isn t mobile friendly, reach out to your website vendor for help, or use mobile-friendly alternatives such as Streamline or Wordpress with a responsive theme.

43 Mobile Friendly Matters

44 Mobile Friendly Matters SSL (Secure Socket Layer) What it is: SSL is a technology that uses a certificate that is installed on the server where your site lives, which provides for a secure connection between a visitor s browser and your website. It s indicated by the at the beginning of a web address (vs What to do about it: Just about any hosting company can install an SSL certificate for you, just ask your vendor.

45 SSL: Secure Socket Layer

46 Online compliance recap

47 State requirements 4 literal, legal CA state requirements, 2 content and formatting mandates Brown Act agenda posting* - 72 hours in advance, add to website Compensation Report* - to Controller, add to site or link to PublicPay Financial Transaction Report* - to Controller, post to website Enterprise System Catalog* - available at offices, post to website *Required even if you don t have a website 1. Section 508: Accessible to people with disabilities 2. AB 169: Open Data definition for anything you call open data

48 More resources

49 Visit Stay informed /talks for related talks, slides, and webinar recordings /webinars to sign up for upcoming webinars, or view past (click the red Past Webinars button) /sb272 for more information on the Enterprise System Catalog and the ability to sign up for our free compliance tool /web if you want to learn more about our website platform for special districts, to help you stay compliant More info: / (916)

50 Stay informed How do you keep on top of this stuff? CSDA (csda.net) Legislative updates (tinyurl.com/leginfo-reg) Attend CSDA conferences, events Learn more on CSDA webinars Peer groups (by district type, role type) Streamline mail lists (getstreamline.com/subscribe) Become a Streamline member (we build tools for this stuff!) Whatever crazy laws come next, we re here to help: sloane@getstreamline.com / (916)